07-07-2025
Where are they now - the 7/7 supporters who were jailed or are on the run
The 7/7 bombers left behind a network of fanatics who inspired, assisted and defended them - but where are those fanatics now?
Though the four 7/7 bombers died alongside their 52 innocent victims, they left a network of fanatics who inspired, assisted and defended them. Some were jailed, others are on the run.
Omar Bakri Muhammad
Radical preacher Omar Bakri Muhammad was the leader of al-Muhajiroun before it was banned by the Government in 2005. The 7/7 bombers were said to have links to al-Muhajiroun and Bakri sparked outrage 20 years ago by saying he would not inform the police if he knew Muslims were planning the attacks.
The 67-year-old fled to Lebanon where he was later jailed for supporting al Qaeda. Released last year after nearly ten years in jail, he is believed to be living in Lebanon's second city Tripoli. In a recent online interview, found by the Middle East Media Research Institute's Jihad and Terrorism Threat Monitor, Bakri claimed that the Muslims have "tamed" the British state and established Sharia law zones. He also appeared to back ISIS and called for a global Caliphate.
He said: "Why are Muslims in Britain more advanced in terms of practicing Islam than any other European country or even Western country? [This is] simply because we tamed them [the British people] … they did not tame us the way they did with the Muslims in France… We even have a Shari'a' zone in some streets."
He added: "We called on them to condemn their own system [of democracy]. Some people said, 'oh these people are crazy! They want to establish khilafa [an Islamic caliphate] in the UK!' I said, 'What's the big deal? Why are you upset with that? … There was an attempt in Syria recently, the Baghdadi caliphate. People don't recognize it, but it was for seven years the domain of Islam … and they [the unbelievers] fought against them and destroyed it. But Muslims worldwide are still working to see the deen [religion] of Allah prevailing wherever they are."
Abdullah el-Faisel
Jamaican-born Abdullah el-Faisel, a hate preacher who had a 'strong influence' on some 7/7 bombers, is in prison in the US. He was previously jailed in the UK for stirring up racial hatred and soliciting murder before he was deported to Jamaica. Ten years ago, we revealed he was recruiting for ISIS from the Caribbean island, defending the beheading of hostages and the taking of Yazidi women as sex slaves.
The New York Police Department launched an undercover investigation into el-Faisel the following year and in 2023 he was jailed for 18 years following his extradition to the US on terror charges. The Muslim convert was named by former Home Secretary John Reid as a "strong influence" on the 7/7 bombers, including ringleader Mohammed Siddique Khan and Germaine Lindsay. He admits meeting Lindsay and his widow Samantha Lewthwaite but denied radicalising them.
Samantha Lewthwaite
Muslim convert Samantha Lewthwaite - or the 'White Widow' - has spent more than a decade on the run as one of the world 's most-wanted terrorists. She was married to 7/7 suicide bomber Germaine Lindsay, who killed 26 people in the underground between Kings Cross and Russell Square, and had two children with him.
After saying she was 'horrified' by the 7/7 attacks, she fled the UK and has since been linked to a string of terror attacks in Kenya which have killed hundreds, including the 2013 Westgate Mall attack. She is wanted in Kenya and is the subject of an Interpol Red Notice. There were reports the 41-year-old was seen fighting alongside militants in Yemen but her family reportedly believe she may have been killed.
Haroon Rashid Aswat
Haroon Rashid Aswat, a convicted terrorist who met 7/7 bombers Mohammed Siddique Khan and Shahzad Tanweer in Pakistan, is due to be released from a secure mental facility. Aswat was jailed in 2015 in the US for 20 years having admitted to trying to start a terrorist training camp in Oregon. He was returned to the UK in 2022 and is currently detained under the Mental Health Act.
Aswat is set to be released despite having been deemed a threat to national security. The 50-year-old will be under a notification order which the Metropolitan Police applied for in the High Court earlier this year.
